30 September, 2013

Boys will be Boys new release blog hop!!



Hello Peeps!!!! 

Welcome to our New Boys will be Boys release blog hop. Our Design Team is so excited about this awesome new download that we decided to have a good old hop to showcase our makes with it and get you all inspired!!

There are fabulous new papers and a amazing new Digi stamp character,Bot,to meet along the way. The papers and Bot are available to buy in the shop from 9am today  BUT we wanted to invite you on a little hop around to see what the gorgeous Funkettes have been busy making with them and give one lucky person the chance to win the new Boys will be Boys download set and a Bot digital stamp!! (They are both available on the Funky Hand website now, if you can't wait)

The hop will be starting over on Anice's Funky Hand Thoughts blog and is open from

 Monday 30th September at 5:00am GMT until 12 midnight GMT Tuesday 1st October
The winnner will be announced at 8am on Wednesday 2nd October.

All you need to do is pop in on all the girls blogs and leave a comment for the chance to win the download yourself!! 

Here's the hop order so if you get lost along the way pop back here for the links!!


Lou.
Sam.

Have fun hopping, see you soon!!!!

29 September, 2013

just a little longer to go!!!!! new release blog hop!!

so the 30th is so nearly here and oh my!! the funkettes have really really rocked this awesome new download so please join us tomorrow to have a look around!!!!

The hop will start at 5am GMT ( to give you all time to hop with your brekkie!!!!) and we can't wait to get these downloads in the shop!!!!!!!

See you tomorrow!!!!

28 September, 2013

Paper Blossom and hugs in a mug!!!


Papers- Paper Blossom.
Digi stamp- A hug in a mug.
Morning everyone!!

Its Lou in this morning sharing one of Funky Hand's one of golden oldies teamed up with one of the newer digi stamps!!!

I absolutely adore the greens and pinks in this downloads and the patterns are some of my favourites too so a little bit of die cutting and punching later and I had all the layers I needed to make a quick card!! by layering up I managed to use a few of my favs from the collection!!! 

I inked the edges of each piece with vintage photo distress ink just to make sure each layer didn't melt into the one before. I love inking edges,it just finishes things off!!

I printed out the mug and then paper pieced it a bit so that the sentiment and hearts didn't get lost in the pattern, then I popped it out on some foam. I really do love these mugs, they are just perfect for quick cards.

Thank you for popping in
huge hugs Lou xxx

25 September, 2013

Funky Wednesday

Hi all,

It's Debbie here with a peak of what I've made with the amazing Funkyhand Christmas Silent Night download

These download papers and digistamps are fantastic and it's so great to have an idea, print out the papers and make what you want when you want.That's the beauty of digital crafting.

Here's a little gift box for a Christmas gift.
To make this cute little gift box I dragged 2 backing backing papers over to my craft artist free download programme. 

I enlarged the tree paper so that I could cut out 1 tree and use it as a tag.

The template was called a pillow box but it's not what I'd call a pillow box.

I cut it out, scored and punched holes where it indicated then voila! With another backing paper I cut out the snowflakes and decorated the box with them and a few gems.

Why not have a go and post any funkyhand creation here or on our  Funky Hand Facebook page.  We'd love to see what you make.

Remember we pop a post up every Wednesday and on a Saturday/Sunday.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Hugs Debbie x




18 September, 2013

Same but Different

Hello there
Kathy here this time with a couple of cards using the wonderful new Christmas downloads
  I know that a lot of people decide on a design for their Christmas cards and then set up a bit of a production line to make all they need.  I will never manage to do this, even if it would make my life easier - I've tried, but failed - I always have to tweak them a little bit, so rarely manage even two the same.
 I thought I'd have a go at making the same card, but using each of the two collections to give them a slightly different look - a little bit of a challenge for me, but interesting too.
I also wanted to use only leftovers from other projects rather than start printing off new ones.  I know what would happen then - I'd cut into the newly printed pieces and the scraps pile would simply grow bigger.  You know how it is!.  
The thing is, all those Christmas shapes; stockings, trees, gift boxes etc are brilliant for using up smaller pieces of paper so it's mad not to use them really.  I used a small tree die cut for these two cards, cutting three of each and backing them with a skinny triangle of card so they stand a little off the finished card.

I've used an embossing folder, and as I've been playing around with an "embossing resist" technique I thought I'd add that to my design too
So here you go, what do you think?

The first card is made with papers from the "Sleigh Ride" collection and is on a white card base.  The  second uses "Silent Night" and I've used a soft creamy coloured card for the base

I've used die cuts to make the trees for these cards, but if you prefer using digital images then
Funky Hand's Festive Digital Images to download can be found HERE

Materials and Tools
Embosiing folder
Tree Die
Silver and Gold Glitter card for stars
Star Punch
Scraps of ribbon to match 
While you're over at the Funky hand shop, why not check out all of the Christmas downloads - there are loads to choose from - and don't forget about the Papercraft Factory and the Original Funky Hand CD Roms which also have Christmas themed CDs in both types. And don't forget, once you have your CDs or Downloads you can print off as much as you need - for all your cards and maybe even making decorations, gift boxes, pages for Christmas Journals and other Christmassy projects too - you can make it all coordinate!

So, when you are thinking about getting started with your Christmas preparations, look no further than Funky Hand - it's all here!
  
We'd love to see what you make, so how about adding some images to the linky below so we can all see them.  You could also add them to the Funky Hand Facebook page.  If you are unsure of how to attach pictures, no problem send them on an email to contact@funkyhand(dot)com and we will put them up for you.

Happy Crafting

 

15 September, 2013

A Funky Hand Tutorial Part 2 - Tags


Hello again! It's Tabbatha here to do my second part of my Picasa 3 tutorial. If you remember Part 1, I made a video demonstrating how to set up Picasa 3 and import your folders for quick browsing when you are looking for that perfect paper!

For Part 2 I had every intention of recording another video, but just ran out of time. So instead...I am filling up the post with lots of screen shots with descriptions. Picasa 3 is so easy to use that you will eventually figure things out for yourself, but I wanted to showcase some of my favorite functions. This can be alot, so I also decided to break it up. That means that there will be a Part 3 and Part 4 too! The topics I'll be covering are the following: Tags (Part 2), Categories (Part 3) and Albums (Part 4). These are three functions that I use almost every time I am picking papers for a new project.

Here is the card that I'll be referring to in the screenshots. It is one of the more complex cards I've made using 5 different patterned papers, so you can guess that I used the full functionality of Picasa (Tags & Categories) in order to pick the right papers for it!

Tags - What are they?
(For a full rundown of tags, you can read up on them here.)
Tags are an easy way to identify themes within your files. They are keywords that lets you identify a particular image.

How do I use them?
(from Google Picasa Help)
  1. Select the photos that you'd like to tag. You can only tag photos in one folder or album at a time.
  2. Click the Tags button. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-T (Windows) or Command-T (Mac). Existing tags and tag counts for selected photos will be listed in the 'Tags' tab.
  3. There are two ways to add tags:
    • Type the tag manually: Use the text box to enter the tag and click the 'Add tag' button.
    • Use your 'Quick Tags': By presetting tags that you frequently use, you can add them with the click of a button. Manage your 'Quick Tags' by clicking the 'Configure Quick Tags'  icon in the 'Tags' tab.
To remove a tag from all selected photos, just hover over the relevant tag in the Tagspanel and click the 'x' icon that appears.
Once your photos are tagged, you can use the search box in the upper right-hand corner of Picasa to quickly find pictures that you've tagged.
In this image, I am looking at a paper from the Summer Wedding download that I would like to tag. This is easily done by first opening the Tag window (View > Tags) or by pressing Ctrl + T on your keyboard. I entered the tag "kraft" so that later on I can search and look at all the "kraft" papers for my card.

If you know you are going to use the same tags over and over (like kraft), I highly suggest using the "Quick Tags" menu - just click on the ?? buttons on the bottom of the Tags window. 

Why are they useful?

By tagging my Funky Hand papers with themes like "Christmas" or "kraft", I can search for that tag and see all of the papers labeled with it regardless of what folder they are in.

One of the things that I do when I have a project in mind is to take a look at all the papers I have (regardless of which set they are from or folder). I then tag them with "project" or something so that later on I can easily search for those papers I think pass best. This works really well if I know I'm leaving the computer for awhile and want to come back to it (as opposed to the highly useful selection box that I mention in Part 1). Just remember to remove the temp tags (project) later on!

Some useful things to keep in mind.

Don't feel the need to tag everything (unless you want to), Picasa Search also looks at the file name so those that have "wedding" in their file name don't necessarily need that tag.

When you use the tagging feature in Picasa those tags are added to the file itself on your machine. That is to say that if you were to open up a tagged image in Windows Explorer and look at its properties, you will see the tags there. This can be very useful, especially when you upload to Picasa (Google+) Web Albums.

You don't need to do this all at once, you can tag temporarily if you want, or as you go along. :)

And thus concludes Part 2! I hope I've clued you in on how easy it is to tag your files in Picasa and I hope you will consider tagging your images in the future (even if you don't use the program!). Tagging is one of those things that "professionals swear by, amateurs hardly every do". :D

11 September, 2013

Envelope/ Wallet





Good Morning- it's time for me, Allison, to show you another little project and today I went for a money holder, but really it could be adapted for lottery tickets, vouchers etc
With Christmas fast approaching I wanted to get ahead and make a start on these- I know I hear you, it's not Christmassy at all but I needed a couple of birthday ones too
I used the lovely Blue Magic colour collection from the Dreams Come True Papercraft CD




I started with an A4 card sheet and scored it at  approx. 4 inch, 4 inch and 2 inch


I then folded it and punched two holes at each side and tied some twine through- you could before you did this punch out a half circle in the centre of the front to make whatever you place inside easier to come out




You are then free to decorate as you like
I added a strip of paper to the front flap and front of envelope/wallet
before securing my flower to the front I tied some twine round it to keep it closed and then attached the flower which keeps the twine in place


Hope you found this useful and remember we would love to see you Funky Hand makes and especially if we have inspired you at  all


AllisonX

07 September, 2013

Christmas Collections Blog Hop !!!!





Hello Peeps!!!! 

The Funky Hand Design Team are having a christmassy little blog hop this weekend to celebrate the launch of the new Christmas themed downloads. The new downloads are jam packed full of fabulous and funky Christmas papers. We couldn't have a new release without some awesome new Wordbooks and there are even some gorgeous new digital stamps to play with!! 

They will be officially released on Sunday the 8th September, BUT we wanted to invite you on a little hop around to see what the gorgeous Funkettes have been busy making with them!! 

UPDATE: ALL THE DOWNLOADS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE FUNKY HAND WEBSITE www.funkyhand.com

If you join in the fun with our blog hop you could be in with a chance of winning a fabby prize of a complete new download collection! 



The hop will be starting over on Anice's Funky Hand Thoughts blog and is open from

 Saturday 7th September at 8.30am GMT until 12 midnight GMT Sunday 8th September

All you need to do is pop in on all the girls blogs, look for their letter, making sure you leave a comment on each blog and then pop back here and leave a comment to let us know you got all the way round and what you think the answer to the anagram is!! We would love to know which download is your favourite too ( ....helps us a bit with the prize then :) !!)

The last letter you need for the anagram is: T
(Don't worry if you don't see your comment here just yet..we don't want to give away the answer now do we!)

Here's the hop order so if you get lost along the way pop back here for the links!!


Lou.
Sam.
Get Funky inspiration blog.

Have fun hopping, see you soon!!!!

04 September, 2013

A sneak peek of something Christmassy!

I know that I shouldn't be so naughty and the new Christmas downloads and digital stamps are going to be released next weekend but, I couldn't resist giving you a little peak..




There are two backing paper collections this year and matching wordbooks.  There will also be four new digital stamps.

Join us here next Saturday (7th September) for Blog Hop to begin the launch of them. Make sure you don't forget as there will be a chance to win a great crafty prize.


We always love to see what you have been making. If you have used any of the Funky Hand Christmas downloads from previous years or created with the CDs Yule Be Funky or Twelve Crafters Crafting why not add some images to the linky below so we can all see them.  You could also add them to the Funky Hand Facebook page.  If you are unsure of how to attach pictures, no problem send them on an email to contact@funkyhand(dot)com and we will put them up for you.

See you at the weekend
Anice xx

 

01 September, 2013

Layer it up and pop it out!!!

                                    Papers from Dreams come true papercraft factory.

Good morning everyone!!
Well I hope you all took advantage of the awesome sale over on the shop?!! if you haven't, here's a little reminder for you.....


and onto my share for today!! its a zingy little number!! lovely cheery colours for the 1st September!! 
And if you fancy making your own here's the details on how to do it!!

You will need:
Green and pink dotted paper.
Large flowers paper.
plain cardstock cut at 4" x 8"
Instructions:
Score and fold your plain cardstock cut at 4" x 8" at 4". This will be your cardbase.

Cut your green and pink dotted paper. You will need 1 at 3 7/8", one at 3 2/8", one at 2 6/8".

Cut your large flowered paper, You will need one at 3 4/8", one at 3" and one at 2 4/8".
Adhere them to your card base, starting with the biggest going down to the smallest, gluing each layer on top of each other.

You will see lots of flowers on your top layer. Go to your scraps of the large flowered paper and cut out all the flowers you can see on your top layer, snipping down the lines up to the centre of your flower so that you split the petals. Turn them over and emboss them (if you don't have an embossing mat you can do this on a folded tea towel with the rounded end of a pen.
Once they are nice and curly stick them over the co-ordinating flowers on your top layer of paper on your cardbase.

And if you do make one, please share it with us, we love to see what you all do with your Funky hand papers. We have a Facebook page here or link in to our little linky tool below!